The full-length sunny follow-up to the snowy short story, Christmas at Sandcastle Cottage. It’s a glorious summer in Firefly Common, the old-fashioned seaside village where Kitty Appleby (almost forty, recently-single, a bit of a Julia Roberts look-alike) and her friends, Apollo and Jemini, rent the delightful Sandcastle Cottage. But life is far from being all sunshine and lollipops as Kitty’s … all sunshine and lollipops as Kitty’s elderly neighbours, the kindly but overbearing Mr H and his wife, keep reminding her, very soon Mavis Mulholland – the owner of Sandcastle Cottage – will return from her lottery-winning round-the-world-cruise, and will want her home back.
Kitty, Apollo, and Jemini found themselves desperately on the brink of homelessness just before Christmas, and having to face this again is devastating. And the idea of leaving Firefly Common without finding out more about the enigmatic, mysterious Vinny pulls at Kitty’s heart.
As the scorchingly gorgeous Firefly Common summer unfurls, as Apollo and Jemini try to make their dreams come true, as Kitty tries hard not to fall spectacularly stupidly in love, and as Mavis Mulholland’s cruise ship nears port – who will end up living happily ever after? And where…?
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Summer at Sandcastle Cottage by Christina Jones a five-star read that will bring the sunshine to your life. I will be honest at first I was a tiny bot lost as I started this without reading the short Christmas at Sandcastle cottage, if I could start again I would pick it up as I do plan to now, but I was soon all caught up and understood who was who and what was going on, this was such a sweet story it really did take me to the beach, I could feel the sand under my toes and the wind in my hair, imagining myself alongside Kitty, looking like a Botticelli painting (more her than me but hey ho). This really is a feelgood story, there is drama aplenty and romance along the seashore but there is also a great story that will encompass you as you read.
Lately I have been getting into this type of book that I call “comfort fiction”. And this book embodies that term, I genuinely couldn’t imagine a better reprieve from the stresses of life.
The tranquillity given from the cover is given tenfold in the book. The characters are wonderful and the setting is spectacularly comforting and tranquilic, it makes you never want to leave.
I’m not going to say anything else about the book because it is a quick read that I believe should not be spoiled.
I will say this though, if you’re considering reading this book, do it. I devoured it in a day and I think that says everything you need to know about the book. I will be looking to read more from this author and I will be returning to Firefly Common many times in the future.
* I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
Summer at Sandcastle Cottage is described as ‘The PERFECT joyful read for summer 2021!’ and it truly is. I thoroughly enjoyed the prequel/introduction to this story, a novella called Christmas at Sandcastle Cottage, but you don’t need to have read it to thoroughly enjoy this wonderful book. (It is an added bonus that I’m sure the reader will no doubt want to read though when they come to the end of this book though).
A captivating read and one that I literally couldn’t put down.
I have to admit I’m a huge fan of Christina Jones and this book is another joy to read. In these strange and often anxiety-inducing days, I was delighted to discover this book knowing that stepping into the pages of one of this author’s books is the perfect escape. Summer at Sandcastle Cottage was exactly that. I will miss Kitty, her friends and the wonderful array of locals from Firefly Common.